A/N: To date, this is the second longest oneshot I've written (I have a Klaine one hidden away somewhere in my folder-It's around 3000 words). I have another time period one that revolves around the same idea, but it incorporates more of the Warblers. Maybe I'll write that one some day... once I take a break from classes. Anyways, enjoy!
The sound of bare feet hitting the pavement and the wind biting his skin were the only things Jeff could register as he ran away from the building. He wishes he could stop and catch his breath, but the police were chasing after him, destined to put him back into that wretched place they called an orphanage.
He also could not abandon his best friend Nick. They planned this out and waited for the perfect time to escape. There's no turning back now. He made a promise to Nick to stick with him until the very end.
For months now, the 13-year-old boys had made plans to escape from their run-down orphanage. They were fed little to nothing, the headmaster was ruthless and did not care for the children one bit, and the home was not kept up at all. They wanted something better than to live their lives in a dump, only for them to be shipped out to work long hours in a factory for little pay. A week earlier, Jeff showed Nick a map of their escape on a piece of scrap paper. He saw the flaws in their plan.
"How are we supposed to jump the fence? There's nothing for us to stand on."
"Simple," Jeff stated, "I can give you a lift and I can climb over easily. The fence is not that tall." Indeed, the metal fence was only eight feet high.
"What about the cops? They always line the streets at night."
"We wait for them to be out of sight, and then we run." Jeff gave him a reassuring smile, but the idea of being chased by cops didn't sit well with him.
"I don't know, Nick, this seems a bit risky…" Nick's mind was unintentionally filled with doubt. He wanted to break out of this place as much as Jeff did, but he didn't want to go to jail for it.
Jeff placed his hands on Nick's shoulders, "If we don't get out now, we'll never get out. We'll be stuck here. I don't want to be stuck. I think the idea that we can make somethin' of ourselves outweighs a little bit of risk."
Jeff was right. They needed to break out, and they needed to do it now.
They were running as fast as their limbs would take them, determined to outrun the two cops that were on their tail. Jeff's lungs hurt, his feet were probably bleeding from running without shoes, and his oversized pajama bottoms were sliding down, forcing him to cling onto them.
He could tell Nick was out of breath as well; the two had been running for quite some time now. It's amazing that the police had kept up with them for this long.
The pair didn't seem to take into account where they would run to after the escaped. Somehow, they found themselves near a makeshift village at the edge of the city. Hoovervilles, he heard the townspeople call them.
"Hey! Stop right there!" he heard a cop yell several yards back. At least by this time they gathered some distance away from them.
They scurried into the village, hoping to confuse the police and find a place to hide in the distraught-looking area. They swerved and ducked and jumped over obstacles, but Jeff could still hear the cops looking for them.
Suddenly, Nick collapsed beside him, unable to catch his breath and gasping for air.
Jeff skidded to a halt and looked back at his friend, "Come on, we can't stop now!" he said in a whisper.
Nick looked up at his friend, "I can't move my legs…I'm so tired…"
Jeff went to grab his friend and help him up, but he suddenly heard ruckus a few yards over.
"We know you're still out here! Give up now, boys, and no one gets hurt." The cop didn't sound too harsh, but he knew that if he gave up, he'd go back to the orphanage. They had gotten so far, they couldn't give up now
He stared at his friend and offered him his hand, but Nick was too out of breath to take hold of it.
"Jeff…you have to get out of here," he heard Nick say.
"I'm not leaving you! We got into this mess together; we're getting out of it together!"
Nick gave him a smile, "You have to get out…while you can…for the both of us."
Jeff furrowed his eyebrow, "If I leave you here, they're gonna take you back to the orphanage."
"And if you stay with me…you going back, too."
"Boys, we're not gonna hurt you, we just want to send you back home unharmed." he heard one of the cops say a way's away. Jeff noted that they were moving away from them, but not too far to start running again.
"Jeff…Jeff, go!" Nick said, locking his eyes on Jeff, "I'll catch up with you. I promise."
Jeff felt pain in his heart. This was not part of the plan. They were supposed to escape together and stay together until the end. He couldn't just leave his best friend. But as he heard footsteps getting closer, he made the heartbreaking decision and prepared himself to leave.
"You better keep your promise," his eyes were brimming with tears, but he did not dare shed one. Nick gave him another smile. Something dark around Nick's arm caught Jeff's eye. He remembered putting that around him wrist right before they escaped the orphanage.
"What are you doing?" Nick asked as he saw Jeff take some material out of his pocket.
"I want you to wear this," Jeff tied a piece of blue ribbon around Nick wrist, "that way, if we somehow lose each other, in a crowd or somewhere different, we can find each other by looking for our wristbands." Jeff showed off his wristband, the same color blue ribbon that Nick was given.
Nick smiled at Jeff, "Sounds like a good plan. But I'm pretty sure if I lost you, I could just pick out your bright blonde hair." He laughed as Jeff covered his head with his arms, slightly embarrassed by his hair.
The tears fell as Jeff recalled the memory while turning his back on Nick. He felt awful, separating himself from his one true friend. He made his footsteps light as he treads deeper into the hooverville. At this point, he didn't know how he got in, or how he was going to get out. He just wanted this to be over already and find a way to get back to his best friend.
Suddenly, he heard a noise. "pssst!" He turned his head to see a young boy around his own age poking his head out of the house. His dark skin didn't help Jeff see him very well, but he saw him gesturing for him to come in. Hurriedly, Jeff ran into the house.
Another person, an older woman, took him and hid him under the bed, placing a blanket to cover the open space. Jeff was confused at the sudden gesture to help, but was all too thankful when he heard the family cover for him during a questioning by the police.
"Did you see any sight of two young men?" asked the police officer.
"Ah sure did. I saw a flash of somethin' going that way." The older woman stated.
"Thank you, ma'am. Have a good evening." Jeff heard the door shut. It was a few minutes before the blanket was pulled back.
"Sorry, we wanted to make sure they were gone," it was the boy from earlier, "My name's David. This is my momma. Don't ya know it's dangerous bein' out there at this time o' night? What was you runnin' for?"
Jeff looked up at the son and mother, "Freedom."
A seventeen-year-old Jeff glanced down at the worn blue ribbon he wore on his wrist. He rolled the material around in his fingers, thinking about his childhood memories. About him breaking out. About him leaving a friend behind.
"Jeff!" he heard David say from outside of their shared room, "Come on, it's time to go."
"Coming." Jeff made his way to the door, grabbing his hat on his way out.
It was early in the morning when the two got to the newspaper factory. They were given a pile of newspapers to deliver to their neighborhood for the day. It didn't pay a lot, but Jeff was grateful that he had such a decent job. Most people were unemployed at this time. Plus, he could buy some of the best candy in town with what he got.
He grabbed his delivery and placed them in his bag. He got on his bike and made his way over towards his delivery spot. It was nice to feel the wind on his face and smell the morning dew on the grass.
He tossed the papers one by one onto the driveways in the neat and clean community. He loved his job. He got to see the budding roses in front of everyone's garden; he got to say hello to the friendly neighbors on a daily basis; he wasn't locked up in a brick building all day like he was at the orphanage.
As he came to his last stop, he saw Mr. Burt Hummel outside watering the grass.
"Morning, Mr. Hummel!" Jeff called out as he tossed the paper onto his driveway.
"Hey, Jeff, hold on a second!" Jeff put the brakes on his bike and strode back over to Burt. "Can I ask you something?"
"You can ask me anything you want, Mr. Hummel," Jeff replied with a smile on his face.
"How much do you make from this newspaper gig?" he placed his arm around Jeff's shoulders and led him up towards the house.
"I'd say about five cents per paper."
"My boy has been looking for a job, says he wants to start pulling his own weight around the house." Burt opened the door for Jeff, and Jeff gladly walked in.
"Kurt?" he asked, surprised, "I thought he was working at Mr. Anderson's candy shop with Blaine?"
"Oh, not Kurt. No, I have another son. You've never met him?"
"I don't think so."
"Hold on, he's still here," Burt made his way towards the back of his house, "Hey, Nick! Got a guy out here I'd like you to meet!"
Jeff saw a young man come out from his room, and he couldn't believe his eyes. It was him. The same warm eyes, the same tan skin; his face is slimmer, and his hair cropped neat. He saw the shock in Nick's eyes as well.
Burt moved his son closer to Jeff, "This is my son Nick. Just turned seventeen a few months ago. Nick this is-"
"Jeff." he cut off his father. Burt was surprised that his son knew Jeff at all; after all, he only ever saw Jeff when he delivered the paper.
"I thought you said you never met my son." But Jeff wasn't paying any attention to his words. His long lost best friend was standing in front of him.
"Dad, do you remember the day you found me outside your door and took me in?" Nick asked, his voice hushed and strained.
"Yeah, 'cause you were running from those cops. They said there was another boy, but I don't think they got him." Burt turned to Nick, confused, "Why's that so important?"
"Because Jeff was the other boy." Nick stepped forward, finding himself right in front of Jeff.
Jeff looked down at his wrist and saw the worn ribbon still placed taut. "You still have your wristband on."
"So do you." He pointed to it.
"I kept it on so that you could find me."
Nick smiled, "I told you I'd catch up with you. I knew I would find you sooner or later."
Jeff chuckled, "Were you looking for my head of bright blonde hair?"
"How am I supposed to find your bright blonde hair when you have a hat on it?" The two laughed. Suddenly, Jeff felt Nick wrap his arms around him and pull him into a bone-crushing hug. Jeff hugged back just as tight, letting the tears he was holding leak out.
"We broke out." Jeff croaked, "We made it."
"We sure did." Nick choked back.